AUSTRALOPITHECUS Definition & Meaning

Australopithecus

[ aw-strey-loh-pith-i-kuhs, -puh-thee-kuhs, aw-struh-loh- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

an extinct genus of small-brained, large-toothed bipedal hominins that lived in Africa between one and four million years ago: the genus Homo, to which modern humans belong, is believed to have evolved from this genus or to have shared a common ancestor.

Australopithecus

An extinct genus of the hominid family that lived in Africa from about three to one million years ago. The name means “southern ape.”

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Notes

Members of this genus were the ancestors of modern humans. One of the best-known fossils, Lucy , was a member of this genus.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of Australopithecus¹

First recorded in 1920–25; from New Latin: literally “southern ape,” equivalent to ��ܲ��ٰ��(��) “southern” + -o- connecting vowel + �辱�ٳ�ŧ��ܲ� “ape,” from Greek ��í�ٳ�ŧ��ǲ�. See austral ¹, -o-,

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

In northern Tanzania, footprints helped anthropologists understand that other hominin species also coexisted near the famous human ancestor “Lucy,” a species known as Australopithecus afarensis, dating back roughly 3 million years ago.

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The long trackway, however, was made by a single individual who left a flatter print, more like that of the Australopithecus at Laetoli.

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Between 2 million and 3 million years ago, many kinds of hominins walked the same African landscapes as Lucy’s species, Australopithecus afarensis.

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"Later, the human lineage diverged from the great apes with the acquisition of bipedalism, as seen in Australopithecus, an early human relative from Africa."

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When David Schwimmer's Ross, who worked as a palaeontologist, says: "No, Homo habilis was erect. Australopithecus was never fully erect," Chandler responds: "Well, maybe he was nervous."

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